The Power of Words
by Betty BOKOR
Summary: SamDaniel. A memorial for Elizabeth Weir brings people from Atlantis and the S.G.C. together with unexpected consequences. The story came from comments MS made about DJ during the Chicago CEC. Spoilers for all episodes of SG-1/Atlantis, plus the movies.
1. Chapter 1

**The Power of Words **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. A memorial for Elizabeth Weir brings people from Atlantis and the SGC together with unexpected consequences.  
Spoilers: of SG-1 and Atlantis, including the movies.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

****

**The Power of Words **

Chapter 1

**_A.N.: This last weekend we got a chance to listen to Michael Shanks talking about his character, Daniel Jackson, and this story was born out of some of his comments and of the episode Shrine from Atlantis._**

Richard Woolsey had always been a good administrator and, though his vision of "good government" had radically changed since he had taken charge of Atlantis, he still knew what he had to do. Right after the incident with the replicators, he knew he had to finally declare Elizabeth Weir dead. Her _missing in action_ status had lasted long enough and her family needed the closure that his decision would bring. Immediately after putting it on paper, he organized a memorial service to give the same closure to the Atlantis personnel.

When the SGC finally followed his example and agreed to a memorial service on the surface, to allow Dr. Weir's family to attend, everybody got their cover stories in order and joined the ceremony. Atlantis sent two of Elizabeth's co-workers to honor her memory, albeit with clearly twisted versions of what had happened during her job with the Air Force.

John Sheppard insisted that he had to be there and he was allowed to return from the Pegasus Galaxy. Right by his side was Rodney McKay. The scientist had encountered far more problems to receive permission to join his friend. Dr. Keller was not certain that he was in good enough shape after the impromptu brain surgery he had undergone in a planet controlled by the Wraith. The lack of adequate instruments and the unsanitary environment in which it had taken place had made the surgery almost as dangerous as not performing it.

Finally she had agreed to allow his trip under the condition that she would join the group and keep an eye on her patient. Although Woolsey thought that the doctors on Earth could do as good a job as the young physician, he attributed her request to as a subconscious desire to return home and decided to grant it. After all, she had been under a considerable amount of stress since Dr. Beckett's death.

The service was poignant and the Weir family was very grateful to have a chance to talk to people who had been close to her during her long stay _abroad_.

As everybody was leaving the cemetery where the ceremony had taken place, Daniel Jackson noticed McKay trying to search something on a PDA as he walked toward the cars. He approached him and asked, "Do you need help?"

"Oh, Jackson. No, no, thanks. Just looking for a hotel to stay. I hate having to stay in that base and I already sold my apartment here. No point on having one when there's not much of a chance of using it, you know…"

"I have a guestroom, if you don't mind the books and papers all around the house," Daniel offered sincerely.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't-" he looked at Daniel for a second and then asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, really. It's not too big, but I always prefer the house over any hotel room."

"Well, it sounds nice. I wouldn't mind-"

"Then, it's done. We can get some take-out dinner and I'll take you home."

"Great. Thanks. Sounds good. Any food sounds good at this time. I can't even remember when was the last time I ate something."

Daniel smiled and was about to start walking toward his car when Dr. Keller approached them.

"Hi. Dr. Jackson," she greeted with a movement of her head. "Rodney," she added looking at McKay, "Where do you think you're going? You need to stay at the Infirmary in the base."

Daniel groaned inwardly. That was something he really would not want to have to do.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine. I got permission to come here. I don't need to be in the Infirmary."

"That's the only place where I can keep an eye on you. You're not fully recovered. To be under my care was a condition of your coming here."

McKay was about to object when Daniel intervened. "You can come with us. You can have my room and I'll sleep in my home office. I have a sofa bed there."

"Oh, thank you, but that would be too much of a nuisance," she tried.

"I'm not going back to that base unless we're on our way home." McKay interrupted.

"It's not a nuisance at all," Daniel replied to her.

"It just feels like it. I should have a place of my own around here, but we don't come often enough."

"Stop worrying. Help us choose what to get for dinner and we'll be home in no time."

Jennifer smiled and nodded in agreement.

John Sheppard approached them a few seconds later.

"What are you guys doing?"

"We're about to pick up some take out and head-home. Would you like to join us?" Daniel asked him.

"I should really be taking a plane and going home myself. I need to see my brother before we go back, but dinner sounds fine. Maybe I can take a red-eye later."

"Then it's a deal," McKay said with a smile and they all went back to walking towards the parking lot.

"Oh, there's Sam," Jennifer said as she looked to their right. "We should ask her if she'd like to join us. We didn't get a chance to talk since we came."

"Maybe she has other plans," McKay said in a suggestive tone.

Daniel looked at him without understanding, but he still turned toward Sam Carter and yelled. "Hey, Sam, care to join us for dinner?"

Sam took a few seconds to reply and then she said, "Sure," and joined the group.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Power of Words **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. A memorial for Elizabeth Weir brings people from Atlantis and the SGC together with unexpected consequences.  
Spoilers: of SG-1 and Atlantis, including the movies.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

****

**The Power of Words **

Chapter 2

Twenty minutes later, Sam parked her car in Daniel's driveway. She got out of the car and said to Jennifer, "Let's go."

The doctor got out of the car without a word, but, as Sam walked toward the front door, she said, "I thought we were going to follow the guys."

"Oh, we do this often. Daniel will know what to buy."

"Shouldn't we better wait in the car?"

Sam smiled and said, "No." Then she chose a key from her key ring and used it to open the door.

"You have a key to Dr. Jackson's house?

"We all do. We have the keys of everyone who's a member of SG-1, just in case," Sam added as she invited her in.

"Just in case…?"

Sam closed the door and said in a lower tone, "Just in case we die again or we get kidnapped, or a Goa'uld tries to retrieve information from our minds while we sleep, or-"

"You've been trough all that, haven't you?"

"One or the other." Sam walked towards the kitchen and Jennifer followed her.

"Well, it's good that they aren't here just yet. I wanted to ask your advice. You know I don't have many friends in Atlantis… and I thought maybe you could help me. You know Rodney better than many people I know."

Sam was surprised by the turn of the conversation, but decided to wait for more before asking anything. "Go ahead," she said as she started taking plates and glasses from a cupboard.

"You know he was very sick a short while ago."

Sam nodded.

"That's why I came with him. I wanted to keep an eye on him, but, also, I really wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you something that happened while he was losing his mind. Nobody else knows."

"What happened?" Sam sat at the table and indicated Jennifer to sit, too.

"We were making these recordings. It was his idea. They were supposed to measure the progress of his illness, or how he was deteriorating." Jennifer lowered her eyes and Sam realized it was hard for her to talk about the incident.

"I understand. Go on."

Jennifer sighed and continued. "On the sixth day he said something… I tampered with the recording; I took that section out." She looked straight at Sam. "I know I shouldn't have, but it was so personal…"

For a second Sam thought he had said something about her. "What did he say?"

Jennifer lowered her eyes again. "I know it by heart. I kept the copy that should be in the file." She sighed one more time. "He said there was something he wanted to say while he still remembered, while he could, before… you know…" She twisted her hands nervously. "He said he loved me, that he had loved me for some time by then."

Sam was shocked. She remembered everything she had heard about Rodney's break-up with Katie Brown, but she had no idea of the new feelings her friend had. "What did you tell him?"

"I was so surprised that it took all my strength not to say anything and a second later he had already forgotten."

"Wow." Sam took a few seconds to ponder what she had learned. "How can I help you?"

"I need to know-" She stopped. "I know there's no way to know for sure without asking him, but I need to know if it's true, if he really loves me."

"Well, he hasn't said anything to me," Sam replied.

"I know. I mean, I didn't think so. I don't think he's told anyone. Maybe to Dr. Beckett, but… I just want to know what you think. Do you think it could be for real?"

"May I ask you how you feel first?"

"How I feel?" "About him?" I'm kind of confused. Do you remember I told you that a while ago I had this _moment_ ─to call it something─ with another guy and then nothing happened."

Sam nodded.

"With Rodney, I haven't had anything like that. It's just that I like him, even with his genius complex." She smiled and Sam smiled, too. Then she continued. "He _is _a genius, so it doesn't really bother me. And when nobody's looking, you can see that he really cares about other people. I just like to be with him, to work with him… Sometimes I feel terrified ─so many things happen over there─ but, when he's close, I kind of trust that everything will be okay. I don't know. It's hard to explain."

"So?"

"I don't know." She smiled a little bit. "I'm trying to figure it out, but I don't want to go through that if he didn't really mean it."

Sam had a sudden idea, but she was not sure if it was right to follow through with it. "You think you can be in love with him?" she asked to be more certain.

"I'm not sure. I've just been all giddy," she made a gesture of impatience. "I just can't help it, especially if I re-watch the recording."

"Have you watched it many times?"

Jennifer seemed to think for a short while and then, with a laugh, she said, "Yeah… Quite a few."

"Look, Jennifer. I have an idea, but I'm not sure that it's right, so I'm going to ask John a couple of questions and if he agrees, I'm going to let him tell you something that could help you."

"John? Sheppard, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Why him?"

"Well, now that I'm going to be in charge of the SGC, I've gotten clearance to read many reports that before I wasn't allowed to touch," she smiled, "and I read something, something that Sheppard told Woolsey after he came back from the future, you know, after we had rescued Teyla and everything was kind of back to normal."

"But_ you_ were in charge of Atlantis by then; why didn't he tell _you_?"

"I didn't last long in command after that incident and he didn't know I wasn't coming back when I left. Heck, _I_ didn't know I wasn't coming back… So he told Woolsey and Woolsey thought better not to tell anything to the people involved."

"I can't imagine what it can be."

"Just be patient. Send Rodney to bed early after dinner and we'll get a chance to talk before John takes his flight."

Jennifer smiled. "Okay… but he'll be mad."

Sam smiled, too. She knew he would, but it was worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Power of Words **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. A memorial for Elizabeth Weir brings people from Atlantis and the SGC together with unexpected consequences.** Danger: S/J coming (for a little while).**  
Spoilers: of SG-1 and Atlantis, including the movies.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

****

**The Power of Words **

Chapter 3

_A.N. Many of you, faithful readers, may think that this scene shows Sam quite out of character. I would like just to remind you to watch a little bit of seasons 9 and 10 to see how she has changed her behavior towards Daniel and how sometimes she even mocks him in front of others. If you have watched the deleted scene of Atlantis that is going around, you will understand better the Chapter 4 of this story, but be patient and we will get to S/D. _

Not long after they finished setting the table, the three men arrived with the food. They all enjoyed dinner, feeling at ease, being able to talk about their daily lives without the fear of betraying a national security secret.

Sam spent most of the time carefully observing Rodney's behavior towards Jennifer. Her friend was usually transparent to her and this time was no exception; by the end of the meal she was convinced that he certainly was attracted to her and probably even infatuated with her. From there to love, she was not sure if it had gotten that far, but it was worth the effort to try and make it easier for him. Jennifer's behavior was already convincing Sam that she was also falling for Rodney and that made the whole problem much easier to fix.

After dinner was finished, Jennifer strongly insisted that Rodney needed to go to bed. He reluctantly agreed and was guided by Daniel to his new room.

When Daniel got back to the den, where he had left the rest of his friends, he found them talking about what Rodney had said in the recording.

"I feel like I'm betraying his confidence," Jennifer said. "That was why I cut that part of the session. I thought it was too personal for others to hear and, besides, he probably doesn't even remember that he told me."

"That's why I think it would be helpful if you told her what you know of the alternate life Rodney lived before you came back from the future," Sam said looking at John.

"Are you sure? Isn't that story a little heavy? I mean, that's why I didn't say much to begin with."

"That's a future that could never happen the same way. The Hoffan drug is no longer a danger for any of us. Since Carson and Jennifer finished that vaccine, there's no chance that that part of the story would happen that way. Besides, Woolsey has been in Atlantis for a while now and not much has changed. It may be possible that Michael is not dead, but he's not going around infecting worlds anymore, at least not that we know of."

"I would tell her," Daniel said as he sat by then.

"You know what we're talking about?" Sam asked surprised.

"Sheppard's report of the alternate future," Daniel replied.

"You don't have clearance to read that, Daniel. They wouldn't almost let_ me _read it until I took command."

"I… kind of do," Daniel said with a gesture of discomfort.

"How?" Sam asked in a tone that surprised both, Jennifer and John.

"President Hayes gave me the clearance," Daniel answered, now looking definitely uncomfortable.

"The president? Why?"

John sat back on his chair and observed amused as the two friends talked to each other seemingly oblivious to the rest of the company.

"After reading precisely_ that_ report, he decided that the I.O.A. had gotten too much power and that if not managed it could get us all in bigger trouble than we usually are, so he decided to get someone to kind of _oversee _the committee… After all, most of the funding for the program comes from this country and, in spite of how what we do or don't do can affect the rest of the planet, it still is mostly our people going out there and risking their lives. It's not going to be a military oversight above the I.O.A., more of a diplomatic approach to the matter, something like _'let's talk about this before we put it in practice and blow up the rest of the universe' _kind of thing. The hardest part was to get the other countries to agree to the whole deal, but we prepared a file with decisions of the I.O.A. that didn't end so well and that helped in the negotiation." Daniel spoke as fast as usual, but nobody missed a word.

Sam was dumbfounded and could not say a word.

"And you're part of the committee that will supervise the I.O.A.?" Jennifer asked innocently.

"There's not much of a committee. It's just mostly… me," Daniel said, looking embarrassed.

"I can't believe it," Sam finally said.

"Well, he's kind of the right person to do it," John tried looking at the indignation in Sam's face. "Congratulations, Jackson, that's a great move."

"Wow, it makes me feel a lot better. I didn't know much about them until they took Sam away and- Well, congratulations, too!" Jennifer said sounding exited.

"Thanks," Daniel said, but he did not sound actually happy.

Sam did not seem to have heard them. She was still looking at Daniel. "I can't believe you didn't tell me something like this."

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone," Daniel argued looking down.

"What did Jack say? Does _he_ know?"

"Nope."

"How long have you known?"

"A month, more or less."

"A month? Why are you telling us now, then?"

"I was going to tell you during the weekend anyway, during your farewell dinner with SG-1. I was going to tell all of you then, including Jack. Hayes is going to make it public the day after you take command. He didn't want to steal your thunder."

"I can't imagine how," Sam said in a highly sarcastic tone. "_Now that you're the boss, I'm going to be the boss of the bosses of your boss._ That wouldn't even leave me a rumbling."

"I didn't think you'd take it so badly, Sam," Daniel said in a low voice, but starting to sound defensive.

"It's not the job that bothers me, Daniel. It's the fact that you didn't even say a word to me. We're supposed to be best friends, Daniel. All these years-"

"Oh, come on, Sam, it's not like you ─or my _other_ best friend─ tell me everything either and, besides, this is definitely _not_ the time _or _the place to discuss this. I thought we were trying to help Jennifer and McKay," Daniel replied in a tone that was close to anger.

Sam suddenly realized that she had completely lost perspective and that she had just made a scene in front of her other friends. She felt utterly embarrassed and apologized immediately.

Jennifer and John minimized the whole incident, but Daniel felt the need to apologize, too.

"We probably are too tired," he said at the end of his apology and smiled unconvincingly.

Sam remained quiet for a while, feeling very distressed, trying to decide why she had reacted so badly to Daniel's good news. She promised herself to talk about it with him before she went home. Those were really good news, especially after her last experience with the I.O.A. If Daniel had been there, maybe she would still be in charge of Atlantis.

She took a deep breath. Nothing had been right lately. She probably was not good at hiding her disappointment.


End file.
